General What profile is a Panda driver

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General What profile is a Panda driver

smc4761

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Bear with me on this one.

Almost every time I see a Fiat 500, I can almost guarantee that this will be driven by a female aged between 20-35. Fiat 500 seem to have cornered the market with this profile of a driver. Previously it used to be the MINI, that every time I saw one it would be driven by a young lady, many still are.

Have Fiat deliberatley targeted the Fiat 500 at young women

So who typically drives a Panda, if there is such a profile
 
Virtually every time I've been to a Fiat dealer there has been a female fitting the above description buying a 500. Kudos to those who choose the Panda instead.

As for the typical driver, I couldn't say. My wife is in her mid 40s and we have a 5 year old, so the Panda made perfect sense as a small family runabout.
 
In my area I see a lot of new Pops with older men and women driving them! Including my grandmother (who owned my Panda before me!)

If you ask me, a better profile than someone who's also in their 20s and chavs the car up / gives Panda drivers a bad rep
 
Unlike the 500 which has most definitely been adopted by the aforementioned buyer group, I think the Panda is pretty generic in terms of customer. Sure they're popular with old folk for ease of use, young folk for cheap running costs and in particular insurance, but there's appeal in the car for anyone with some brains I reckon.

We know the 4x4 is one of the best mountain goat vehicles in the world which is why they're pretty much the only thing seen in the higher resorts of the Alps and the Trekking is a very close alternative, but my main attraction is what the Panda is NOT...

It's not a school-run ego-Panzer so loved by those who need their image boosting
It's not nearly 3 tons and it's not covered in brash and tasteless bling
It's small, light, fun and perfectly suited to being an everyday car
It supports the intelligent thinkers 'less is more' take on life I think.

I've had my 200mph cars in the past but have come back to the Panda (OK, amongst a couple of other cars in the garage too) as it has nothing to prove and says more about you than cash ever can, to coin a 70's marketing tag line ;)
 
55yr-old male. Like R1NGA above, I've had a lot of fast 6 and 8 cylinder 'premium' sportscars and luxury cars in the past. But so many speed cameras and utterly hopeless and slow drivers clogging ever busier roads these days allied with the narrow rural lanes where I live and do most of my driving now mean that a Panda Cross is a no-brainer choice for me. Really quite decent and characterful little car for relatively small money. As a wide-shouldered 6' 4" bloke I must admit I wouldn't have been seen dead in a Panda 20 or even 10 years ago, but now that I'm far more comfortable in my skin as I've got older I no longer feel compelled to project any kind of macho/flash/affluent image and basically no longer GAF what anyone thinks! Break free from all the modern-day aspirational bullsheet in a Panda Cross!!
 
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I'm 36 and on my 6th Panda and my 7th Fiat. That says more about my love of cars than anything else. The Panda has always been much better value for money than a 500 for me, which is why I've never owned one. If my TA breathed it's last tomorrow, would I be afraid to borrow a Pink 500? Beats waiting for the bus. I have driven a Mini, too low to the ground for me compared to what I'm used to. And they're on the expensive side. Everyone has their own taste anyway.
 
Bit of a generic question. Unlike the 500, the Panda is not a fashion statement seen in the eyes of the likes of the young female. The Panda means different things to different age groups & whether you're male/female. For most it's a wee affordable workhorse, or just affordable city car, end of. In saying that it fits well into the country environment for obvious reasons if you just require something small. Obviously not purchased for its sport car attributes, it is what it is, simple.

Back in the day, three work mates & myself ran one back & forth to the oil yard for transport, cheap & cheerful, although a bit cramped at times. As I say it it what it is.

Just for the record, although I see the 500 & the Mini driven predominantly by young females, another favourite chosen weapon, & I mean that at times, is the SUV in various forms. I'm not going into detail, but you can just tell that this is very much a fashion statement. I will leave it at that...
 
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Bear with me on this one.

Almost every time I see a Fiat 500, I can almost guarantee that this will be driven by a female aged between 20-35. Fiat 500 seem to have cornered the market with this profile of a driver. Previously it used to be the MINI, that every time I saw one it would be driven by a young lady, many still are.

Have Fiat deliberatley targeted the Fiat 500 at young women

So who typically drives a Panda, if there is such a profile

We have had several 500s in our family, but I would agree that Fiat has certainly marketed the car in a way that generally won't appeal to your stereotypical alpha male lol:) However, there's no denying there are lots of men who drive a 500 and love their cars too, so it's not as simple as that.

The Panda round these parts is generally driven by older people. I think I may have seen a couple of people in their 30s driving one, but that is really the exception to the rule. And the majority are white Pop or Easy models. However, I guess this is subject to change depending on what part of the country you live in.

I've often said the Panda is a better car than the 500 in virtually every respect, based on my own personal experience. And it is of course a bucket load cheaper. However, it never "felt" the same as a 500 when you jump into the driver's seat - not literally in terms of comfort, but more in terms of enjoyment. Now that is completely irrational and stupid in many respects, but IMO it goes a long way to explaining why the 500 sells so well compared to the Panda.
 
I've often said the Panda is a better car than the 500 in virtually every respect. However, it never "felt" the same as a 500 when you jump into the driver's seat - not literally in terms of comfort, but more in terms of enjoyment. Now that is completely irrational and stupid in many respects, but IMO it goes a long way to explaining why the 500 sells so well compared to the Panda.

Agreed. Let's face it, squircles just aren't cool.
 
Ermmmm.....excuse I, but what are 'squircles'? Does not knowing mean that I not a 'genuine' Panda afficionado?!!
 
Ermmmm.....excuse I, but what are 'squircles'? Does not knowing mean that I not a 'genuine' Panda afficionado?!!

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squircle

Here's a cute game. See how many squircles you can find on your Panda, inside and out.

Don't forget the ones surrounded by tea/coffee/coke stains, where your drink regularly spills (because, unlike 99.9% of drinking vessels known to man, even the cup-holders in the Panda are ... you guessed it!).

There was a rib-tickling article in CAR magazine about the Panda and the cult of the squircle a few years ago

http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/featur...fiat-panda-2012-and-the-cult-of-the-squircle/

And if you don't think your Panda has enough squircles, you can add more, by buying squircle stickers!

http://fiat-panda.sgpetch.co.uk/pag...xterior/accessory=Squircles+Stickers/id=12847
 
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44 yo male 4x4 owner coming from a good while of Yaris ownership and living in a "northern" (read Midlands) hilly uk city. The Panda 4x4 has a USP that nothing can come close to (I challenge you).

Take it easy,
M
 
Ermmmm.....excuse I, but what are 'squircles'? Does not knowing mean that I not a 'genuine' Panda afficionado?!!
Fiat’s inspiration for the "squircle" probably came from the British-built Austin Allegro, which was fitted with a steering wheel of almost identical shape (Austin described it as "quartic"). Older drivers may remember that the Allegro was frequently nominated for the "Square Wheel" award.
 
Fiat’s inspiration for the "squircle" probably came from the British-built Austin Allegro, which was fitted with a steering wheel of almost identical shape (Austin described it as "quartic"). Older drivers may remember that the Allegro was frequently nominated for the "Square Wheel" award.

Hmmm... "Let's design our new Panda around the USP of that cr@p car that BL built in the 1970s, and maybe we'll win a Square Wheel Award for cr@pness"

At least the Panda's design team had the sense not to fit it with a squircle-shaped steering wheel (although they tried jolly hard to make the steering wheel look that shape! (n))
 
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